The Girl Outside
by Relatable Alien
Summary: A strange girl appears in Sarah Jane's driveway. Who is she? Where is she from? When is she from? What is she? So many questions... perhaps the Doctor could shed some light on the situation.
1. Chapter 1

"What's she doing?" Sky gazed out the attic window as Sarah Jane worked at her computer. She had articles to write, and these bills didn't pay for themselves! _Oh, Luke, I miss you already, _she thought, recalling the weekend before when he'd left for university. She was sad to see him go, but K9 was there and he couldn't be left on his own for long. Another thought nagged at her mind, a friend Luke had mentioned quite often... _no. He'd say if anything was happening... wouldn't he? He does feel comfortable telling me or asking me questions... doesn't he? _

"Pardon?" Sarah Jane said, still distracted but trying not to let her thoughts spiral into that pit. _I've been as good a mother as I could. I've done my best. If I messed up I'll just have to live with it I suppose._

"There's a girl standing in the driveway," Sky explained, still gazing out the window. Now Sarah Jane was curious. She liked being curious, it distracted her from her life. Curious was her favourite way to be when she wasn't celebrating having saved the world once more from her attic in Ealing. When Sarah Jane looked out the window, there was indeed a girl, standing there, staring at something...

"How about we go and ask her," Sarah Jane was already at the door when she spoke, getting her sonic lipstick from her jacket and putting it in her pocket. _There probably isn't any danger, but it's better to be safe than sorry _she considered all the past times something innocent had turned out to be deadly. _Yeah, better safe than sorry__, _she headed downstairs, sonic in pocket. Sky followed quickly after her, a wide grin on her face. A new girl possibly meant a new friend. Clyde had left for art school and Rani was doing a degree in journalism as well as trying to find an internship to fill the rest of her time. They'd both still be around, but who could tell how long it'd be until Sky would just be left on her own.

Getting the keys from the side table, Sarah Jane unlocked the thick wooden door. It was one of the reasons she bought the house. The feel of that door reminded her of the TARDIS. Her house was like her TARDIS in a sense, except lodged at one address permanently. _I could always redecorate... _she considered adding round things to the wall. _Nah. _Door open, Sky stood close to her as they approached the girl as she stood there, staring.

"Can I help you?" Sarah Jane asked the girl. The girl looked up and blinked, staring into Sarah Jane's eyes. She breathed in deeply through her nose, eyes going to Sky's as she blinked again. Tilting her head to the side, she continued to watch the younger girl. It unnerved Sarah Jane. There was something in her eyes. An emptiness, darkness, deep seething rage burning that refused to be quelled. She looked back to Sarah Jane, blinked and swallowed. Opening and closing her mouth, she tried to familiarise herself with speech once again.

"Yes," the girl said slowly, eyes glinting seriously in concentration. She breathed in deeply again. "Thyme."

"Time?" Sky asked. The girl clicked her fingers, looking around them.

"Thyme, time, I can smell time, that's new," the girl mumbled, staring back at Sarah Jane. Suddenly she grinned widely, stepping back and clapping her hands. "It's you! I think I know you. I should know you. Do I know you?" she tilted her head to the side.

"My name's Sarah Jane Smith," Sarah Jane informed her, skeptical of this new acquaintance.

"Sarah Jane!" the girl exclaimed, leaping back then from foot to foot. "Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane..." she murmured to herself, eyes wide in wonder. She paused, blinked again. "Funny, I thought I knew you - ARGH!" She collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain as her skin began to glow. Sarah's eyes widened as she recognised what was happening to the girl.

"Get her inside," Sarah Jane knelt by the girl, Sky following suit, supporting her between them as her face contorted with pain. They could only make it to the front room. Sarah Jane hurriedly closed the curtains, hoping that none of her neighbours were looking through her windows that day.

"What's - happening - to me," the girl managed to say between gritted teeth. She was shaking, her body unable to control it.

"You're regenerating," Sarah explained. "I've seen it before." The girl began to squint as if she was looking through a dirty lens at the world.

"My head," she whispered before falling into unconsciousness, beads of sweat rolling down her face.

"Should we call a doctor?" Sky turned to Sarah Jane. _It can't be him. She must be someone else._

"Stay with her," Sarah Jane instructed before heading up stairs. _Perhaps Mr Smith can shed some light on this..._

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><p><strong>an**: Who is the girl outside? Thoughts? Theories? Hopes? Hopes not?

Have a great day everyone and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

"Mr Smith, I need you," Sarah Jane called as she entered the attic.

"Sarah Jane, how can I be of assistance," he answered coolly. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, putting most of her weight on one foot.

"Do you have any information regarding Timelord regeneration?" she inquired hopefully. Last time she'd had Brigadier there, and he'd been through it all before. Now she had to face it on her own.

"Insufficient data," Mr Smith replied. Sarah Jane bit her lip. _Should I call him? What if she is him, a future him? ... Better to call him than not._

"Call the Doctor," she instructed him.

"Calling the Doctor." His display changed from the revolving crystalline form to an image of a mobile phone with the Doctor's number on the screen. She listened as the rings ran through until -

"Sarah Jane Smith," an old man was on the screen. This wasn't the last Doctor she'd known. "How long's it been? Eight centuries? Too long." His face flashed a smile for a moment again.

"Doctor, who're you talking to?" a younger woman's voice sounded.

"Clara, come, I have a friend I'd like you to meet!" he called over his shoulder.

"Doctor, this is urgent," Sarah Jane insisted, having to adapt fast to his new face. She'd only briefly met his last. _Was it his last? How long had he said - eight centuries? He could have had several in that time... _A girl appeared behind him wearing a brown jacket with a fringe.

"Urgent? What's urgent?" his eyebrows furrowed. She resisted the urge to inquire about his clothing. From what she could see, it greatly resembled his 3rd incarnation, the first she'd met.

"A girl has turned up in my driveway and she's regenerating!" Sarah Jane exclaimed.

"I'll be right there!" he said and was gone. Sarah Jane held her breath, ears scanning for the wheezing sound that would signify his arrival. After a minute, nothing.

"Oh Doctor," she sighed, leaving the attic to go downstairs. As she reached the bottom of the staircase there was a knock at the front door. _Please don't be Gita please don't be Gita please don't be Gita_ Sarah Jane thought over and over as she went to answer it.

"Thought I'd better knock," the Doctor said, revealed as she opened the door. "Through here then." He strode past her to the lounge room where the girl was still unconscious on the sofa. Frowning, he knelt beside her, Sky stepping back.

"Hi, Clara," Clara introduced herself the Sarah Jane as they went after the Doctor, Sarah closing the door firmly.

"Hi," Sarah Jane replied. Her attention immediately returned to the unconscious girl. "Is there anything you can do?" she asked him as he continued to frown.

"Not as of yet, no," he answered, still frowning as he stared at the girl's face, as if trying to tell her entire life's story, past and future, by its close inspection.

"Will she be alright?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Ask me again later," he instructed. It was clear he didn't want to talk and there wasn't anything they could do to help the girl, so Sarah Jane headed into the kitchen.

"Sky," she called before Sky began quizzing the Doctor. She followed Sarah Jane into the kitchen. Clara watched her go, before going up to the Doctor.

"Who is she?" Clara asked him.

"I don't know," the Doctor answered, thinking she meant the unconscious girl. "Ask her when she wakes up."

"I meant the woman, who is she?" Clara repeated. The Doctor ignored her. "Fine, be that way." Clara muttered under her breath, going to see what was happening in the next room. She knocked before entering, not wanting to appear rude. Sarah Jane turned to her as she entered.

"I'm making tea, would you like one?" Sarah Jane asked as warmly as she could with her concern for the girl on her sofa.

"I'd love one, thanks," Clara smiled. Sarah Jane set the kettle to boil before turning to Clara.

"So, what do you do when you aren't travelling with the Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked her.

"I'm an English teacher," Clara informed her. Sky grinned.

"What school do you teach at?" she asked.

"Coal Hill," Clara explained. Sarah nodded, smiling to herself as if there was some joke only she was aware of. "So how exactly do you know the Doctor? If you don't mind my asking..." Clara inquired.

"I traveled with him for a few years," Sarah Jane smiled, reminiscing. "When I was younger. We parted ways, but ran into each other again a few years ago."

"Ah," Clara nodded.

"Take care of him, he needs someone to watch his back," Sarah Jane said as the kettle finished boiling. She poured the teas and took hers and the Doctor's into the lounge room.

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><p><strong>an**: Please review if you want me to keep going with this story. Sorry, this chapter is mostly back and forth dialogue. I tend to write this way most of the time (there is loads and loads of stuff I've written which I haven't published online).

Thanks Emily Meminger for reviewing chapter 1!


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: **Thanks again to Emily Meminger for reviewing!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Sorry it's a bit late and mostly dialogue.

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><p>"So, eight centuries," Sarah Jane said, placing the Doctor's tea on the table. He ignored her, staring at the girl, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. He hadn't been the one to give that face so many frown lines, but he certainly wasn't going to stop from getting more. "It's only been a year here, since I last saw you. Jo's been well. She's helping spread awareness about an oil spill in the North Sea and campaigning for the government to invest more in alternative energies."<p>

"What are you trying to do, Sarah?" he asked, still staring at the girl. Sarah Jane's breath caught. He was talking to her, that was something at least.

"Remind you not to bury your friends before their funeral," she remarked. He looked up and turned to her. "I'm still here, still alive. You're welcome to pop in for tea every now and then."

"No," he cut her off, turning back to the girl. "That's not how it works."

"What's happened to you, Doctor?" Sarah Jane frowned. This was the most alienated she'd ever felt from her best friend.

"Regenerated."

"I can see that, but it's something else, isn't it," Sarah Jane wouldn't let the matter drop. She was too much of a journalist. Or perhaps she was too good a friend. "Do you know who she is?" she joined him in watching the girl.

"I have a theory, but it's impossible," he stated. Sarah Jane chuckled.

"Impossible? When did you start believing in impossible?" she teased him.

"Since it started being real," he objected, wanting her to stop laughing. _Why is she laughing? I'm not being funny! _

Sarah Jane sat down in her chair. "Your tea is getting cold," she pointed out, sipping her own beverage. He looked behind him on the table where his mug sat.

"Thank you," he picked it up and sat as well, opposite Sarah Jane on the sofa where he could also see the girl.

"So who do you think she is? Another Timelady?" Sarah Jane inquired. He tilted his head and sniffed.

"She's certainly not Romana," he concluded. "Though she could be Susan, except that's-"

"Don't say it," Sarah Jane sighed.

"-impossible," he finished. She looked away. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" she scoffed, taken aback. He turned to her, his wide eyes confused at the way she was looking at him. Looking at him like she had no idea who he was anymore, like he was truly alien. She'd seen him be alien to her before, but this was at a totally different level. Sarah Jane composed herself. She knew full well getting angry with the Doctor wouldn't get her anywhere. "Who do you think she is?"

"She could be any number of people," he turned away. River, Susan, Romana, Jenny. All dead, so all impossible.

"What's your theory then?" Sarah Jane crossed her arms after setting her mug on the table.

"I never told you about Jenny, did I?" his face seemed to soft a little. It wasn't kind, or happy, more wistful. "It was while I was travelling with Donna. Martha was there on that trip too. You see, a war was going on and both sides were using these devices which extracted a genetic sample from a parent body and then in seconds re-coded the DNA to grow an offspring which would step from the machine in adult form with full tactical knowledge in seconds."

"Some way to become a parent," Sarah Jane sympathised with him. Parenting was hard, no matter the age. "What happened to her?"

"Killed," he said, his face loosing the wistful glow, snapping sharply into reality. "So as you see, impossible." He turned his head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "And also awake. There's no point hiding it now. Open your eyes." The girl did as he asked, opening her eyes and looking into his. "How old are you?" he frowned, grabbing her head with both hands and looking into her eyes. She blinked, trying to push herself away from him as his eyes widened with interest. "You're young! Where did you come from?" the girl looked over to Sarah Jane who was watching the interaction, quite perplexed.

"Doctor-" Sarah Jane began, but the girl cut her off, sitting bolt upright, her eyes widening as she started at the man.

"She knows me," he said quietly. The girl's breathing began to quicken, her chest expanding and contracting with increasing speed. "Who are you?" Her face suddenly blanked and she turned to stare at the carpet. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" the Doctor raised his voice, moving into her line of vision. She blinked then cried out as her head throbbed. Grasping her temples, she keeled over.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she cried, tears streaming from her eyes. The Doctor's eyes widened suddenly and he immediately moved, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he whispered to her as she cried.

"Doctor, what happened?" Sarah Jane asked quietly. She'd stood up when the girl cried out. The Doctor looked at the girl, then up at Sarah Jane.

"I tried to connect with her mind telepathically," he explained. "Since she's a Timelady, I assumed she would have been trained."

"And you were wrong?"

"Yup," he looked down at the girl, rocking her gently back and forth. "It's alright. I won't do it again, I swear." Eventually her sobs ceased and she turned away from him, her face obscured from view by her fringe.

"Can you tell us who you are?" Sarah Jane asked, sitting down on the sofa. The girl reminded silent and still.

"Do you know who you are?" the Doctor asked in a low voice.

"I don't remember," the girl whispered. Suddenly her head snapped up and she looked at Sarah Jane. She peered at her closely. "Sarah Jane Smith." She let the words roll around in her mouth, tasting them on her tongue.

"Yes, that's my name," Sarah Jane nodded. The girl tilted her head to the side.

"You were... hmm..." she murmured, still watching Sarah Jane.

"Sarah Jane?" Sky inquired, opening the door. The girl leapt up and jumped back, staring at Sky and Clara, her breathing deep. "Oh, she's awake!" Sky smiled before seeing the look of concern on Sarah Jane's face.

"It's alright, this is Sky," Sarah Jane explained to the girl. She looked around the room frantically, her head darting back and forth. "Listen, calm down. None of us are going to hurt you." The girl's eyes locked onto Sarah Jane's. Slowly, she got down off the sofa, sitting down while still maintaining eye contact. "Now that's better." She sat down herself, watching the girl carefully.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Clara asked, brows furrowed with confusion.

"Shh," he hushed her, focusing on the girl.

"When am I?" the girl asked.

"Earth, early 21st century AD," the Doctor supplied. She turned over to look at him.

"21st," she repeated.

"Yes, that's what I said." She stood up, everyone else standing up as well.

"I shouldn't be here, I have to go," she murmured, going to the door.

"No you don't," Sarah Jane soniced the door lock before the girl could touch it. "Sit."

"What are you doing?" the girl asked her, remaining beside the door.

"Finding out what's going on," Sarah Jane replied. The girl backed into the corner, her face going ashen and blank, except her eyes which were large and round.

"No... let me go, please let me go!" she whimpered, curling up into a ball on the floor.

"Hey, it's okay," Clara, who was closest to her, knelt down, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, but she flinched away under the touch. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Tell us what you see," he instructed the girl. She remained silent, shivering, face hidden from view. "Tell us what you see." He repeated, more sternly. The girl whimpered.

"Stop it, you're scaring her," Sarah Jane scolded him, going over to Clara. "I think we should just keep our distance." She told her. Clara obeyed, standing and stepping back in line with Sarah Jane as she knelt so she was at eye level with the girl but wasn't in her space.

"Please don't hurt me," the girl whispered, looking around at Sarah Jane, tears streaming down her face. At once she cried out, her head flung back, face contorted in agony as her body fell limp against the wall.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you everyone who has reviewed, followed, favourited. I love reading reviews, even if it's just a couple words, it's greatly appreciated.

Sorry, there won't be another update until December. Loads of stuff happening. Sorry.

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><p>"She's too young," the Doctor said, staring at the girl's limp body as she lay against the wall. He went up to her, putting his hand against her forehead. "No, no, no!" he exclaimed loudly. "Sarah, open the door!" he shouted, lifting the girl into his arms. <em>How is he doing that? He doesn't look that strong... <em>Clara pondered, following him as he raced to the TARDIS, Sarah Jane and Sky in tow. As they approached, he shifted the girl in his arms, clicking with one hand and continuing to run as the doors opened. Clara followed, leaving the door open for Sarah Jane and Sky.

"Sarah Jane..." Sky said, a little unsure, stopping outside the TARDIS doors. Sarah Jane turned to her.

"It's alright, Sky," Sarah Jane reassured her. "This is the TARDIS." She explained to her adopted daughter. Sky still wasn't fully certain, but she trusted Sarah Jane and so entered, closing the door behind her. They raced after the fading footsteps of the Doctor, going up the stairs, down the corridor to the sick bay.

"Don't you dare," the Doctor breathed, his eyes alight with fire. Sky stayed in the doorway, confused and a little frightened. The Doctor bustled around the room as the girl lay limp on the bed, pulsating with gold light.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Clara asked him.

"I need to connect with her, teach her how to regenerate, she's burning herself up," he spoke at light speed, the words tumbling out of his mouth after each other. "If I can't help her, she'll kill herself with all the energy she's holding." The girl woke with a start, coughing. "Deep breaths, here, let me help you," the Doctor said sternly, putting his hands on either side of her forehead.

"Can't - where am I?" she asked, staring at the ceiling, blinking with glassy eyes. Beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

"You're safe, in the TARDIS," the Doctor said. "Now, hold still, this is going to hurt." She clenched her fists, bracing herself for the pain to come. The Doctor closed his eyes to concentrate. The gold light glowed brighter, then faded, her face relaxing. His eyes opened, eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "That can't be right," he murmured.

"What, what's happened?" Sarah Jane inquired.

"Is she dead?" Sky asked hesitantly from the doorway.

"Doctor?" Clara asked, standing nearer to him.

"She's... asleep..." he kept frowning, getting up and retrieving a scanning instrument from the wall behind him. He scanned her entire body. "Sarah, come take a look at this." Sarah Jane did, going up to him and looking over his arm at the readouts. "Two hearts, so she is Gallifreyan decent at least." The Doctor mused.

"Try cross referencing it with DNA codes already in the TARDIS database. If it is Jenny, there'll be a match," Sarah Jane reasoned.

"Good idea, I'll be in the control room," the Doctor strode out, Clara watching him go with a confused look on her face. Why had he asked this Sarah Jane to look at the readings and not her? Sky stepped aside to let him pass. She went over to the girl, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her face.

"Sarah Jane, what are those marks on her arms?" Sky asked, pointing but not touching the marks she was referring to. The Doctor had removed the girl's white jacket, revealing a white singlet top underneath. There were marks up the girl's arms, either circles or straight lines and the circular ones placed periodically, like she'd been wired into a machine.

"It looks like she was... plugged into something... judging by those circle marks," Sarah Jane observed. Clara looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah, but those lines, they're random," Clara pointed out.

"They look like scars," Sarah Jane breathed. "You don't think she might have been held captive somewhere, experimented on against her will?"

"I don't know what to think right now," Clara admitted, looking to Sarah Jane. She guessed that Sarah Jane might be an inch or two taller than her if she wasn't wearing high heels. As it happened, Clara was at her height.

"Sarah Jane, look!" Sky exclaimed as the girl's eyes blinked open. She started straight ahead.

"Where's my pod, I have to get back, before..." her voice faded off.

"Before what?" Sarah Jane asked.

"It'll detonate... it was a precaution... so I didn't pollute any time streams..." tears were running down the side of the girl's face.

"What does your pod look like?" Clara asked urgently.

"They inserted a device into my hand to open it," the girl spoke as more tears streamed down her face. "Oh no... what if it's too late?"

"Everything's going to be okay," Sarah Jane promised the girl. "Can you describe the pod for us or where you might have landed?"

"Trees, lots of trees," the girl murmured. "When I woke up, there were trees everywhere... I knew you could help... Sarah Jane Smith..." Her eyes faded, looking like she was in a dream state. "Crater, hot. I burnt my hands climbing out..."

"It was a wreckage," Sarah Jane filled in the gaps.

"Fire, I was screaming..." the girl spoke, still staring straight ahead, tears pouring from the corners of her eyes, running into her hair. There were no soot marks on her clothes, or any on her skin, Clara noted. "I had to run through it... it hurt me..." She closed her eyes.

"The pod, what does the pod look like?" Clara probed.

"Smooth, egg shaped, massive chunk missing from one side after the blast," the girl explained. Clara started to go to the console room to tell the Doctor. "Stop!" the girl cried, grabbing Clara's arm with unbelievable strength from so frail a body. "Don't go inside it. You mustn't go inside it. Only I can go inside it." She said with urgency.

"Why? What happens if someone else goes inside it?" Clara asked.

"Automatic detonation," the girl whispered, stiffening a moment and falling limp.

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><p><strong>AN:** So now there's a mysterious Timelady, a pod they need to find and deactivate without going inside because it'll explode and has anyone told UNIT not to get their hands in it yet? What caused the blast that removed one side of the pod? Who is this girl? Does she even know herself?

Again, apologies there won't be more until December unless I (and by extension, anyone enjoying reading this) am extremely lucky.


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